ZURICH – A Credit Suisse Group unit has been ordered by a Singapore court to compensate billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili what may well be hundreds of millions of dollars, in yet another blow for the bank in its legal battle with the former prime minister of Georgia.
Singapore-based Credit Suisse Trust breached its duty to the plaintiffs in failing to safeguard the trust assets, according to a judgment posted on Friday.
The court assessed his damages at US$926 million (S$1.25 billion), minus deductions for an earlier US$79.4 million settlement. The amount could be further subject to change “to ensure there is no double recovery”, given that a Bermuda court last year awarded Mr Ivanishvili more than US$600 million in damages in the case.
“The loss suffered by the plaintiffs is the difference between what would have been achieved if the whole portfolio had been removed and managed by a competent, professional trustee and the trust assets were not affected by fraud, and what was actually achieved,” Judge Patricia Bergin wrote in her 248-page verdict.
A spokesman for Credit Suisse said in an e-mailed statement that “the judgment published today is wrong and poses very significant legal issues”, adding that the trust intends to “vigorously pursue an appeal”.
A spokesman for Mr Ivanishvili was not immediately available to comment.
The ruling marks another major setback for Credit Suisse after the loss to Mr Ivanishvili in a Bermuda court, a conviction for money laundering in Switzerland and a raft of other scandals that undermined investor confidence in the bank. It had to accept a government-brokered takeover, which is expected to close soon, by larger rival UBS.
The judgment highlighted the bank trust’s failure to prevent private banker Patrice Lescaudron from having any further access to the trust assets. Lescaudron was convicted in 2018 for fraud over a scheme he ran to take money from Mr Ivanishvili’s accounts to cover growing losses among other clients’ portfolios.
If the parties are unable to reach agreement on costs and/or interest, they should file an agreed timeline for submissions on this matter by no later than June 30, according to the judgment.
Senior Counsel Cavinder Bull from Drew & Napier was lead counsel for Mr Ivanishvili. Senior Counsel Lee Eng Beng from Rajah & Tann and a team from Allen & Gledhill represented the trust. BLOOMBERG
